Does Charles Barkley have his signature shoe line? Looking at the NBA legend's entrepreneurial ventures
Charles Barkley had a distinguished career in the NBA. He spent 16 seasons in the league, split between the Philadelphia 76ers, Phoenix Suns, and Houston Rockets. Although he ended his career without a championship, he was an 11-time All-Star and even made the NBA Hall of Fame.
Charles Barkley played 1,073 games in his career, ending up with 23,757 points, 12,546 rebounds, and 4,215 assists. He had the best 2P% in the league for five consecutive years between 1986 and 1991 and was the 1986-87 season’s rebounding champion.
Even today, Charles Barkley’s association with the league continues, by virtue of him being an analyst on TNT’s “Inside the NBA.” Barkley’s larger-than-life personality had him earn a host of endorsement deals. They included Coca-Cola, McDonald's, and Nike, among others.
Apart from his association with basketball and the NBA, Barkley has made himself a strong reputation as an investor. One of his first big investments was setting up a $25 million seed-stage VC with the Alabama Futures Fund. It was later allocated for startups in Alabama. In 2017, he went on to pledge $1 million to fund Alabama black women’s tech startups – and when asked about it, he said:
“My goal is to help advance women in the technology field and shine a light on their efforts.”
Charles Barkley has appeared as a guest on ABC’s Shark Tank (Season 10), through which he funded a startup called NeuroVice. The deal was made after the episode when founder Ashlyn Sanders wrote to him, and he really liked her presentation.
Does Charles Barkley have a signature shoe line?
Charles Barkley rocked a host of Converse and Nike shoes before getting his own signature line with Nike. Barkley’s arrival at the Phoenix Suns was a pivotal move to ensure the franchise’s relevancy, and he made his mark right off the bat.
In his first season with the Suns, he played 76 games. He averaged 25.6 points, 12.2 rebounds, and 5.1 assists, helping the Suns finish first with 62 wins. Barkley’s performance won him the Most Valuable Player award – the first and last of his career.
At the conclusion of the season, Barkley got his first signature shoe – Nike Air Force Max. Although the shoe does not have his logo on it, Barkley’s number 34 is printed on the shoe – and he donned it perfectly.
The following season marked the arrival of his first official signature shoe, which was a modification to the previous one, and named The Air Force Max CB. It featured a synthetic nubuck and leather upper with a mid-cut design. It also had an adjustable strap to secure the midfoot and 180-degree Max Air cushioning at the heel for impact protection.
On this day in 1994, Charles Barkley lit up the Golden State Warriors for a career-high 56 points in the Nike Air Max2 CB 94.
📸: Sam Forencich https://t.co/mZKhrgBMpa
The season after that saw a lot more releases in his signature line. That included the Nike Air Max 2 CB, Nike Air CB 34, Nike Air CB 34 II, Nike Air CB4, Nike Air Super CB, and Nike Air CB4 II.